The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch

gga

Did you end up finding it, Philip? What it means to be human? Religion
didn’t seem to provide your answer. Did drugs? A Scanner Darkly is
famous for your search, but this appears to be some sort of transition
between those two searches.

Like Graham Greene, Dick is one of my favourite authors. Over time I’m
steadily trying to read all of his novels. I prefer his later ones, so
that’s generally what I choose. Unlike Greene, not each of Dick’s is
better than the last: A Scanner Darkly is still my favourite, and
one of my favourite sci-fi novels. Sci-fi is typically a pretty pulpy
genre: cheap enjoyment, with very little challenge to the reader. Even
the best sci-fi with a great idea at it’s heart will present that idea
in a pretty straightforward form.

Not Philip K. Dick. He did not shy from challenging the reader with
unusual ideas, often in outright confusing forms. This book felt like
some sort of mental trap that the reader is drawn into. Only with the
hope that all will become clear by the end. The confusion is why I
read this book now. How hard can you push the reader? How difficult
can you make the story to follow? How many tricks can you pull? And
still end up with a populist, enjoyable story.

There’s a lot to connect Dick and Pynchon. But, Dick just didn’t have
Pynchon’s talent. Sometimes you are left wondering if this was meant
to be confusing, or did he just write it a bit too quick. His later
work does show that yes, he was aiming to confuse.